English Language Learners: Differentiating Between Language Acquisition and Learning Disabilities

This unique guide for special education teachers, teachers of English language learners (ELLs), and other practitioners provides the foundational information needed to determine whether the language difficulties experienced by ELLs result from the processes and stages of learning a second language or from a learning disability (LD) . The book addresses how to determine whether an ELL’s struggles with reading in English are due to LD or language acquisition, characteristics of language acquisition that can mirror LD, and common misconceptions and realities about ELLs and the second language acquisition process.